OWNERSHIP OF COMPLEX TO CHANGE

PAUL H. JOHNSON; Courant Staff WriterTHE HARTFORD COURANT

The Mutual Housing Association of Greater Hartford is in the process of taking control of the Willow Arms Apartments in Tariffville.

The move would keep the 81-unit complex on Elm Street as affordable housing for its residents. The current owner, the Greater Hartford Realty Association, had put the property up for sale. Details of the purchase are incomplete.

"We wouldn't want to see people displaced. It fit within the type of housing we do," said Catherine MacKinnon, executive director of Mutual Housing.

MacKinnon said negotiations to acquire the property are expected to be completed in about a month.

The group is obtaining about $2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to renovate the 26- year-old apartment complex.

Apartments will receive new kitchens, cabinets, roofs and appliances. The complex will also get a new boiler and an electrical upgrade. Four apartments will be made accessible to people with handicaps.

Mutual Housing intends to create a resident association to set up regulations for residents. Residents will also have a voting representative on Mutual Housing's board of directors.

"We try to encourage people to become involved in their development," MacKinnon said.

Mutual Housing's mission statement says it provides renters with "an affordable alternative to traditional home ownership and a significant step up from rental housing."

Mutual Housing operates three properties in Hartford and one in Winsdor Locks.

"We try to promote choices for people in finding housing that's affordable for them," MacKinnon said.

Residents said the proposed renovations on the apartments would be welcome.

Thomas Hayes, a resident of Willow Arms since 1979, said the complex needs a new roof and the cellar leaks. He said renovations are long overdue.

"They do that, it'll be great," he said.

On Monday, the zoning commission approved a permit to allow Mutual Housing to construct a community building for Willow Arms residents.

MacKinnon said the building would be used for residents' meetings and functions and would not be open to the public.

Some residents said money for the building should instead be put toward renovations.

"I don't want that building to go up that's going up," said Anna Smith, who has lived at Willow Arms for 11 years.

"Keep the money and clean up the apartments," she said.

Others said the community building would give children a place to hang out.

Resident Christine Czarnecki said the playground on the site is antiquated and children have no place to play.

"I think [Mutual Housing] has the residents' best interests in heart," Czarnecki said. She has lived in Willow Arms for six years and has two children, ages 12 and 14.

She said the residents' association would provide a sense of community. "It's kind of like the neighborhood watch. The people are going to feel better about where they live," Czarnecki said.